# The Orchards Mall

Benton Charter Township, MI · mall · tier: draft · Retrofit Atlas record `m-9a5207fe1e` · release 2026-10-20

Canonical: https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/mi/benton-charter-township-the-orchards-mall/  
JSON: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/m-9a5207fe1e.json · Provenance: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/m-9a5207fe1e.provenance.json · API: https://retrofitatlas.org/api/v1/sites/m-9a5207fe1e

## Facts

| Field | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Status | operating | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Strategy | redevelop | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| What is there now | As of December 2022, the three businesses remaining at the mall, two of which were the last remaining stores, were Doctor ZZZZ'Z; a discount furniture store, Open Box Outlet, which occupied the former Jo-Ann Fabrics space; and a US Postal Service (USPS) branch. | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Opened | 1979 | reported · Wikipedia |
| GLA (sq ft) | 530000 | reported · Esri 2014 layer |
| Stores at peak | 60 | reported · Esri 2014 layer |
| Original developer | Westcor | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |

## Quoted support

- **original_developer**: “Orchards Mall was built in 1979 by Westcor.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall
- **after_notes**: “As of December 2022, the three businesses remaining at the mall, two of which were the last remaining stores, were Doctor ZZZZ'Z; a discount furniture store, Open Box Outlet, which occupied the former Jo-Ann Fabrics space; and a US Postal Service (USPS) branch.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall
- **status**: “In spite of the mall being empty – a dead mall – as of 2026 it has not officially announced its closure.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall
- **strategy**: “an April 2023 meeting between the owner and local officials indicated redevelopment plans.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall

## Anchors

JCPenney, Sears, Elder-Beerman

## Parties

- General Growth Properties — owner (from text) (1999–2002)
- Westcor — owner (from text) (1976–1999)
- Kohan Retail Investment Group — owner (from text) (2014–2018)
- Sequoia Investments — owner (from text) (2002–2014)
- Durga LLC — owner (from text) (2018–)

## Timeline

- 1974: Meyer C. Weiner Company first proposed a mall called Pipestone Mall
- 1976: Westcor acquired the land for the mall
- 1979: Opened (Wikidata)
- 1979: Orchards Mall opened
- 1992: Elder-Beerman added as third anchor store
- 1999: General Growth Properties became mall management
- 2002: General Growth sold the mall to Sequoia Investments
- 2009: Sears closed its store
- 2014: Kohan Retail Investment Group purchased the mall
- 2018: Mall sold to Durga LLC
- 2026: USPS opted to close its branch rather than relocate

## Deals and debt

- 2018 sale:  Durga LLC ← Kohan Retail Investment Group  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall
- 2014 sale:  Kohan Retail Investment Group ← Sequoia Investments  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall
- 2002 sale:  Sequoia Investments ← General Growth Properties  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall

## Background (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened)

The Orchards Mall is an enclosed mall in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, U.S., just outside Benton Harbor. Opened in 1979, the mall originally featured Sears and JCPenney as its anchor stores, with Elder-Beerman being added in the 1990s. In spite of the mall being empty – a dead mall – as of 2026 it has not officially announced its closure.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall

## Sources

- Quoted support for original_developer — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchards_Mall
- Esri StoryMaps: Closed_US_Malls feature layer (2014) — https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=6869fc5bfb3f4757954ef7a9e9ccbebf (2014-10-02)

## Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "The Orchards Mall, Benton Charter Township, MI." Record m-9a5207fe1e, release 2026-10-20, tier draft. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/mi/benton-charter-township-the-orchards-mall/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

```bibtex
@misc{retrofitatlas_bentonchartertownshiptheorchardsmall,
  title = {The Orchards Mall, Benton Charter Township, MI},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/mi/benton-charter-township-the-orchards-mall/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-9a5207fe1e, release 2026-10-20, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}
```

Licence: research use only; terms undecided with the authors (https://retrofitatlas.org/licence/). Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0. Tiers: curated = from the authors' public map, not reviewed by them; draft = imported or model-extracted, unreviewed.